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Spyro the Dragon
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So you
have had the internet for a while now and have some websites you visit
regarly. You have also noticed that some websites are well designed and
updated often, others look horrible and are not so good.
You may of also thought of
making your own website, but you do not know where to start. Well here's a
rough guide on how you design, build and publish a website! NOTE: Remember,
I am not a professional at this sort of thing, so this is based on my
experience.
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Step 1: Choosing a Subject
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So, you want to build your
own web site? The first step to achieve this is to pick a Subject or theme
for what your website is going to be about. You need to pick something that you
know a lot about and you are really
interested in the subject. If you want to build a successful website, you
need to keep coming back to it and update and improve your website. If you
get bored the topic after a couple of months, then it is pointless and it
will be a waste of your time.
Make sure also that the subject you have chosen for your site is not too big to
cover, as if you do not want to spend all your spare time creating the
site. If you just want to make a simple site then narrow the content down. e.g. "My site is going to be about dinosaurs" This will take ages,
as they are hundreds of 'em, so just concentrate on a particular type.
But if you want to make a big website, then go ahead - but only if you are
willing to put the time into it.
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Step 2: Choose your style |
Now that you have
decided on a subject, you now must decide on how you are going to
create your website. There a couple ways to this. So below is a list
and then you can choose yourself.
Online Editing | Difficulty:
| Tools needed: internet, website account, basic image progam
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| The first way is to use a online
editing program, provided by your host. (bravenet, freewebs etc) this is
recommended for people who are new to the web site creation thing.
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WYSIWYG | Difficulty:
| Tools needed: internet, website account, good graphics program,
WYSIWYG
editor (Frontpage etc), FTP program
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| The second way is
to use a web creation program to manually create the pages. This is what I use, which
you can create nice looking web sites with.
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HTML | Difficulty:
| Tools needed: internet, website account, excellent graphics
program,
Notepad-like software
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third way is for experts only - all you do is actually write out the
html code for the page, which in most cases is quickest, but extremely
difficult!
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Step 3: Get a Host |
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Now that you have
decided on a subject, you must now choose a Host. A host is a company
who actually makes it possible for your site to be displayed to people
on the internet, rather than just on your computer. A host will store
the site on the companies server. The site will be viewable on the
site address, usually with the companies name. e.g.
648network.freeweb7.com.
The thing is, you can pay loads of
money to get a host, but there are many places for you to get a host
at. Here's some recommended free hosts.
Online Editing:
WYSIWYG/HTML code hosting:
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Step 4: Building your Website |
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Now that you have decided on a
subject and got yourself a host, now comes the long part of the site -
creating and building it. Creating your website is the longest part
and you have to stick with it as it will work out in the end. There
are a couple of ways to create a website, and it depends on how good
and experienced you are as which one you take.
Designing tips
When you are designing your website, there are
things you should do and not do. Here's some pointers:
Be Original. Make your site unique and try not to make your site like
other sites of its type. If your site is unique then you are more
likely to get visitors
Make every page on your site have a similar layout and theme. (Like
this site) As this means that visitors do not get confused by the
layout.
Make
the site fun and interesting to read and visit, if it isn't then your
visitors might think it is boring and they may not return.
Do not copy someone's else's work. If you are really stuck, then base
your writing off a site but do not copy it. You can get a basic
structure of the page and then you can change it more later on.
Also, when choosing a colour scheme for
the site do not have lots of different colours together, keep it simple.
Also make sure you organize the pages of the site
and make the site easy to navigate (like
I have 5 sections) as it is a pain to navigate a messy site.
Don't use many under construction signs.
DO NOT USE FRAMES!
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Step 5: Advertise your website |
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Now that your site
has been created and is now online, your web site needs traffic, visitors
to look at your web site. This means that your site needs to be
advertised. What's the point of creating a web site, if no one knows about
it? There's a number of things you can do. I have done these and trust me
it works well!
You can ask other web
sites of a similar topic, to link to your site. If the site is
extremely popular,
then you will get loads of visitors. If it helps, you can offer to link to
their site as well.
If you join forums,
then you can usually advertise your web site link in
your profile.
You then need to post often, and more people will see your site link.
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Step 6: Update it! |
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The last
step - keep updating your site regularly with new content and information!
If your site doesn't reselve updates, then people will think it is
dead
and will not come back.
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